Ahead of new regulations taking effect this week, U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent said the agency is preparing additional rulemaking aimed at making college consolidations, mergers, acquisitions, and even closures easier for institutions. Speaking Tuesday at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators conference, Kent described the goal as smoothing the pathway for restructuring activity across higher education. Kent’s comments followed an ED push to issue guidance quickly in time to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including major financial-aid rules effective immediately. The merger-related comments highlight how regulatory work is spanning both institutional operations and student-aid eligibility. Critics have argued some of the financial-aid and accountability changes could weaken earlier rules designed to ensure program value. The ED’s plan, Kent said, is to reduce friction for consolidation activity that could otherwise stall in procedural complexity. For boards, presidents, and finance teams, the message is that regulatory risk management will extend beyond program outcomes—restructuring strategies will increasingly need to be built around changing federal compliance requirements.